Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Local Government topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Piedmont students, parents urge council to hold pool contractor accountable as construction lags
Summary
High school students and parents told the council that repeated delays to the new Piedmont High School pool have deprived athletes of home competitions and called for clearer timelines and regular updates; the city administrator promised a status bulletin within 24 hours.
Dozens of Piedmont residents packed the public forum to press council members for action after the long-delayed Piedmont High School pool missed another season. Ellis Kucas, a high school junior, told the council students have already lost two classes of athletes to the delay and urged elected leaders to make contractors accountable: "Losing the chance to play sport that we love in front of our peers we'll live in our long term memory," Kucas said.
Parents and teammates amplified the plea. Zach Dupree, who identified himself as a junior at Piedmont High School, said players have driven 15–30 minutes nightly for practices and the class of 2026 may not have a home pool for its spring season. Julie Stein, who said she has three children including two water-polo players and helped campaign for Measure UU in 2020, described watching progress via the site webcam and asked the council, "What's holding this construction company accountable? Where is the timeline?"
The council did not take action during public forum, which is limited by state law from substantive deliberation. Instead, Vice Mayor (speaker 1) asked the city administrator for a status update; the city administrator told the council the city would release an update to pool stakeholders "within the next 24 hours" and that staff were finalizing and rolling out written content to the mailing list. The administrator also attributed some on-site slowdowns to recent rain and to sitting water that delays excavation.
Next steps: the council did not vote on a remedy during public forum. Parents and student speakers said they expect regular communication and a clear schedule from the city; staff committed to a written status notice to stakeholders within 24 hours of the meeting.
